Sweet Milk Lake – created by Western Australian writer, director, producer and actor Harvey Zielinski – was announced last night as the winner of the 2026 CinefestOZ Film Prize, the country’s richest film prize, worth $100,000 for an Australian production.
The filmmaking team behind Sweet Milk Lake, including Harvey Zielinski, actor Ngaire Pigram and producer Philippa Campey, were presented with the award by the 2026 Film Prize Jury at the prestigious Film Prize Celebration, held as part of Western Australia’s CinefestOZ Film Festival in Busselton.
Sweet Milk Lake is a heartfelt drama directed, written by and starring Zielinski alongside Hunter Page-Lochard, Kieran Darcy Smith and Ngaire Pigram. The film is produced by Zielinski, Campey and Molly O’Connor.
When soft-spoken, introverted trans man Jake discovers his estranged father, Lee, is dying, he returns to Sweet Milk, driven by a desire to reconnect with his dad and a need to escape the identity politics and familial dynamics suffocating him in the city. When Jake arrives, Lee mistakes him for his hyper-masculine twin brother, Sam, unaware of Jake’s transition.
For the first time, Jake experiences his father’s approval and is accepted by the community as one of the boys. The privilege proves intoxicating. Emboldened by new confidence, Jake uncovers his father’s secrets and explores a new romance. But when Lee suddenly dies before Jake can tell him the truth, Jake is left to face the consequences.
CinefestOZ Chair Margaret Buswell said the CinefestOZ Film Prize was created to celebrate excellence in Australian filmmaking.
“On behalf of CinefestOZ, I would like to congratulate all our exceptional finalists, The Fox, Wilderness, Yesterday Island, and our 2026 winner, Sweet Milk Lake. Each film represents the extraordinary talent, creativity and storytelling that continues to define Australian cinema.”
“I would also like to sincerely thank our incredible Film Prize Jury, Chair Greer Simpkin, Rachel House, Gregor Jordan, Katie Milwright and Mark Coles Smith, for generously sharing their time, knowledge and expertise, and for their genuine passion and commitment to celebrating and supporting Australian filmmaking.”
Simpkin spoke on behalf of the jury about the decision to award the prize to Sweet Milk Lake, saying the film had something meaningful to share with Australian audiences.
“It has been an honour to be on this jury. We have all become fast friends while spending hours watching films and discussing them together. It has been wonderful.”
“Each film was wonderfully unique, and all four films generated rigorous discussion among us. On behalf of the jury, I would like to congratulate all the filmmaking teams on the creativity and passion they have brought to this year’s CinefestOZ Film Prize.”
“As a jury, we were asked to assess each film against the broad criterion of ‘excellence in Australian filmmaking’. There are many ways we could interpret this, and in the end, we concluded that we wanted to choose a film with the strongest point of view, one that clearly had something to say and share, and that possessed an emotional resonance capable of fostering understanding between audiences and communities as a whole.”
“Our final choice, Sweet Milk Lake, is a film that is assured, technically impressive, and delivers a unique and transformative perspective to Australian cinema. A film bolstered by courage and nuance, it ultimately offers a genuine sense of hope.”
Zielinski, who accepted the award on behalf of the Sweet Milk Lake team, said the recognition was an overwhelming honour.
“This is such an incredible, overwhelming honour.
“We’re very grateful. Thank you to CinefestOZ, the jury, our incredible cast and crew, and everyone who brought Sweet Milk Lake to life and believed in it from the beginning.
“This film is a labour of love for so many people, and we’re incredibly thankful that it’s resonating with audiences. This means more to us than we can truly put into words. Thank you, CinefestOZ!”
